Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Bungie’s Destiny is a peculiar sort of MMO…and that’s
putting it mildly. It’s the sort of game that will leave those wanting to like
it confused, and those just dipping a toe into it downright disappointed, or
not…depending on just how thoroughly such players are set to explore its
content.

The best way to put it is to say that in order to
enjoy the game, one needs to fall into a sort of a groove, a rhythm which is as
difficult to define as it is difficult to actually find when playing.

At first glance, nothing is particularly impressive
about Destiny, when compared to other games of its ilk. Its weapon-handling and
gun-play is far inferior to that of Call of Duty. The environments depicted in
Destiny are nowhere near as alive and as engaging as those of Skyrim and the
collecting of the loot is much less rewarding/exciting than in Borderlands 2.
Even with all those drawbacks, the game has an uncanny ability to grow on the
player: once one figures out a few things like which weapon works best in a
given situation, when running away is the best choice and when giving the story
a rest and heading to the Crucible for some PvP is right, he/she will realize
Destiny is in fact quite enjoyable. The problem is though that just as it can
so subtly and skillfully draw players into its rhythm, the game will also slap
them in the face here and there in a downright vile manner, prompting them to
log out straight away. There are certain ancient game-play mechanics at work in
it which – when they’re triggered – are guaranteed to leave one instantly
disappointed. The social aspects of Destiny fall well short of the mark too:
while one will encounter other players in the game, there will be little
motivation to team up and to actually do something together.

The bottom line: its story scattered and convoluted,
and its game-play fraught with major problems here and there, Destiny is not a
title for the faint of heart.